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Joseph Scheel House

Spring Branch, Comal County, Texas

Marker Inscription

A typical home of German settlers, built late 1860s by Bernhard Joseph Scheel (1815-79) and wife Anna Barbara (Link). Hand-cut, faced local stone; native cedar timber; and cypress shingles were used. Son Hermann and grandson John later owned the place. RTHL - 1972

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Built in the late 1860s by German settler Bernhard Joseph Scheel and his wife Anna Barbara, this Comal County farmhouse used hand-cut faced local stone, native cedar timber, and cypress shingles. The home stayed in the family for generations, passing to son Hermann and grandson John.

Why it matters

It is a well-preserved example of how German immigrant families built durable homesteads from the materials of the Texas Hill Country, anchoring communities that still bear their heritage.

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Related people

  • · Bernhard Joseph Scheel
  • · Anna Barbara Scheel

Themes & tags

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Nearby & related markers

Anhalt Halle and the Germania Farmer Verein

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Anhalt began in the 1850s as a small German farming and ranching settlement whose name means 'stopping place.' In 1875 residents organized the Germania Farmer Verein to combat cattle rustling with a shared brand and to support members' families, and in 1879 they built Anhalt Halle as a meeting and social hall. One of the oldest and largest dance halls in Texas, it still hosts Maifest, Oktoberfest, and performances that carry on the community's German traditions.

Spring Branch Post Office

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German immigrants Gottlieb Elbel and Christiane Zeh settled this farm after arriving in Texas in 1849 and were among the founders of Spring Branch. In the two-room log cabin Gottlieb built in 1852, the Spring Branch Post Office operated from 1867 to 1872 with Elbel as postmaster, its mail carried on horseback between New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. His surviving postal journal is a valuable record of the correspondence of area residents.

Smithson Valley Cemetery

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In the Texas Hill Country, this cemetery is the resting place of the German immigrants who settled the Smithson Valley community, once home to a store, post office, schoolhouse, dancehall, and saloon. It began in 1876 as a family burial ground and was formally deeded for a cemetery in 1898 by Heinrich Pantermuehl. Its east-facing rows, curbed plots, and German-language gravestones carry on customs brought from Germany.

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